Mosley comments on Pacquiao PED story controversy

Dennis Taylor

May 24, 2011

Former three-division champ Shane Mosley is distancing himself from media reports that have stated that he accused Manny Pacquiao of steroid use just days after losing his May 7 title fight to the Filipino superstar at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Mosley says the genesis of the story occurred after someone sent him an article via Twitter that quoted an anonymous source — purportedly a Pacquiao sparring partner — claiming he had injected Pacquiao with the illegal drug. Mosley says re-Tweeted the article (authored by Pedro Fernandez of RingTalk.com), but notes that he did so without comment.

Mosley told Yahoo! Sports that reporters twisted his words to create the controversy, which went viral on numerous Internet boxing sites in the days following the fight.

"There has been some media coverage recently stating that I accused Manny Pacquiao of steroid use on Twitter," Mosley said in a written statement sent to Yahoo Sports. "This is not true. I personally respond to my followers on Twitter, and there was an article sent to me which I re-Tweeted. I did not write the article and did not say that I agree with it. I have defended Manny Pacquiao publicly regarding these type of allegations, stating that they have never been proven true.

"In our postfight press conference I told the world that Manny won because he was the better man that night," he added. "Manny and I have a mutual respect for one another as true warriors and gentlemen. We both strive to be the best we can be at boxing, as family men, and as humanitarians."